SKyTeach Co-Director Awarded Sponsorship from Confucius Institute

CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE AT WKU AWARDS SIX SPONSORSHIPS FOR SPRING SEMESTER

The Confucius Institute at WKU has awarded its first six sponsorships to the following groups and individuals in an effort to spur originality and creativity for any on or off-campus Asian-themed event, workshop, lecture, materials:

Dr. Martha Day and Dr. Tadayuki Suzuki – Sky Teach at WKU: Dr. Day and Dr. Suzuki will use their sponsorship to help fund a Professional Development workshop for pre-service and practicing teachers entitled, “Working with students from Asian cultures, a teacher’s guide to cultural competence.”

Dr. Paul Fischer – Department of Philosophy and Religion: Dr. Fischer will use his sponsorship to purchase Chinese films and language books for his Confucianism course (RELS 317) in the Spring 2012.

Dr. Jen-Luc Houle – Department of Folk Studies and Religion: Dr. Houle will use his sponsorship to off-set costs for his Visiting Guest Speaker Dr. David Anthony, Professor of Anthropology at Hartwick College, N.Y. Dr. Anthony’s talk will focus on horse domestication in the Eurasian Steppes and how Bronze Age riders helped shape the modern world.

Dr. Michael Ann Williams – Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology: Dr. Williams will be using her sponsorship to support WKU Folk Studies Graduate Student participation in the 2nd China-US Forum on Intangible Cultural Heritage at Vanderbilt University in April 2012.

WKU Chinese Music Club has used its sponsorship to purchase a traditional Chinese instrument, the Erhu, so that Club members can practice and perform regularly.

WKU Department of Theatre and Dance has used its sponsorship to help support its traveling Children’s Theatre production of Along Came a Dragon, a play that takes a magical journey to China.

The WKU-CI congratulates all inaugural winners and thanks everyone who applied.

The WKU-CI and Hanban, China’s Ministry of Education, work to promote understanding of the Chinese language and culture through children’s programming, training courses, cultural workshops and community events. Together, these organizations have Introduced fully articulated K-16 instruction in Modern Standard Chinese into local school systems, serve as a regional center for Chinese teacher training and Chinese curriculum development, and build connections and partnerships between Kentucky and China.